Waikiki express buses to run Friday morning

The city has agreed to operate 28, early morning rush hour express routes Friday morning to help out workers in Waikiki and downtown Honolulu, Mayor Kirk Caldwell said Thursday.

Caldwell said he is agreeing to a request made by Waikiki tourism officials who told him that, storm or no storm, the state's premiere tourism destination will still be flocked with visitors at the height of tourism season.

More than half of Waikiki's visitor industry employees bus into the area, hotel officials said.

The buses will run from 4:30 to 7:30 a.m. Besides making their regular stops, any of the express buses that normally don't go to Waikiki will make it their last destination so that more passengers can be accommodated, Caldwell said.

The 28 express buses that will run Thursday consist of all of TheBus' daily express routes, with the exception of those that go to the Arizona Memorial, which is closed for the day.

The mayor had announced Wednesday that all bus and Handi-Van service would stop when the last vehicles are done Thursday night.

The only other bus service will be for those needing to travel to any of the 10 American Red Cross emergency shelters across Oahu.

See thebus.org for further details about the shelter-related bus service.

Standard bus service will resume when it is prudent to do so, city officials said.

Caldwell, on Thursday, also announced that all non-essential city services will close Friday, asking about 8,000 workers to stay home.

There will be no trash pickup and the city is urging residents to put away any bulky items left on the curbside. Residents are also urged to secure their trash bins.